Private victories
by dragondaysareover
Summary: 'Then why every time she serves me cappuccino she makes a heart in the foam' Quinn is a barista and Rachel is a regular customer. All their friends know they like each other. The rest is history. Faberry one-shot.


'There she is' Rachel pointed out towards the counter 'The blonde one'

'I would say straight' Mercedes stated before taking a look at the menu.

'Mmm' Kurt hummed 'I don't know Rachel. My gaydar's not tingling'

'Screw you two!'

Mercedes and Kurt laughed and he threw a piece of paper napkin at her.

'Then why every time she serves me cappuccino she makes a heart in the foam?'

'Maybe it's the standard decoration of the cappuccino' Mercedes suggested.

'Okay, let's do something' Rachel insisted. Kurt and Mercedes looked at her with curiosity 'We all order cappuccino and check the foam'

Mercedes started laughing and Kurt patted her but couldn't hold back the giggle.

'Okay, let's do it. At least it'll be fun' Kurt teased watching how Rachel crossed her arms over her chest and rolled her eyes.

'There she comes!' Rachel informed nervously.

A blonde girl approached their table, a little notebook and a pen in her hands, a smile on her face and a little badge on her shirt that said 'Quinn'. Once she reached their table, she greeted and took their order. Three cappuccinos. Kurt and Mercedes eyed Rachel , who was looking at Quinn the waitress.

When they placed their order, Rachel could swear Quinn smirked while writing down on her notebook. She went back to the counter leaving them alone.

'She smirked!' she hissed 'She knows we're up to something!'

'Rachel, you're obsessed with her!' Kurt replied chuckling, but seriously.

She pouted and rested her cheek on her fist in a defeated manner.

'It's just that she's so…' she began 'she's like an angel' she sighed 'She looks so sweet and serene.'

'Just the exact opposite of you' Mercedes teased her.

'She really is beautiful. Objectively beautiful' Kurt stated.

'What does that mean?' Mercedes chuckled.

'It means that I'm not sexually nor romantically attracted to her, but it's obvious she has a pretty nice set of genes'

The three of them laughed and agreed.

Meanwhile, at the other side of the bar, Quinn entered the kitchen and looked for a tall and blonde boy that was putting some lettuce and ham in bread buns and wrapping them in saran wrap. She patted his shoulder to catch his attention.

'Hey' he greeted.

'Hey' she smiled.

He quirked up his eyebrow and nudged her 'What's that smile for, uh?' he asked playfully, folding the wrap close and putting the sandwich on a tray.

'She's here' she grinned and blushed a little bit.

'Whoa' he smiled back.

'With friends. And they all ordered cappuccinos' she informed him with a chuckle. He laughed and turned around to face her fully, one hand on his hip, the other, grabbing the edge of the counter.

'You've been caught' he joked 'What are you gonna do now?'

'I'll make a heart for her and maybe a flower or a leaf for her friends'

'I dare you to be more obvious' he laughed and Quinn laughed along. 'You want me to eavesdrop or something?' he teased.

Quinn rolled her eyes and punched him lightly on the arm 'I'd better start with those cappuccinos' she said while getting out of the kitchen.

A couple of minutes later, Rachel saw Quinn walking towards them, carrying a tray with three mugs on top of it.

'Okay, there she comes' she whispered to them 'If there's a heart in the three of them I pay. And if I get the heart, you buy me this one'

'Deal' both of her friends agreed.

Quinn was already standing beside their table. She took one mug and placed it in front of Kurt. The three of them eyed it. A leaf. Rachel looked up at Kurt who had his eyebrows raised in surprise. Quinn took another mug and placed it in front of Mercedes. Another leaf. Rachel widened her eyes. Kurt and Mercedes looked at her with hope. The third mug was already in front of Rachel. Her face lit up with a grin when she saw the heart-shaped doodle in the foam. She was still processing the situation when Quinn said 'Enjoy yourselves'.

'Thank you!' Kurt and Mercedes replied smiling at both of the girls.

Rachel lifted her face up, taking her gaze away from her coffee, smiling shyly. That was her way to thank her. Quinn held back a grin and turned around, heading to the bar.

'Wow' Kurt exclaimed, still comparing their froths.

'See?' exclaimed Rachel 'Victory's mine!' she pumped her fist triumphantly 'A private victory, anyway, but still a victory'

'I take back what I said. She's totally gay for you' said Mercedes with a throaty laugh.

'You think so?' replied Rachel enthusiastically clasping her hands together with excitement.

'But we have to be sure of it' Kurt suggested.

'What you have in mind?' Mercedes asked, sipping from her mug 'Damn, she really makes good coffee'

Rachel nodded and pouted, looking at her mug. Kurt frowned 'What is it now?' he asked.

'If I drink the heart will go away' she replied with a childish voice and the three of them burst into laughter.

The sandwiches tray was almost full. Quinn was wrapping the last one, paying attention to the door.

'You see something, Sam?' she asked him while he was looking from the threshold of the kitchen, partly hidden by a cupboard.

'Mmm' he hummed 'The boy is…looking at the mugs' he squinted 'I think they realized' he chuckled.

'Nice' she put the sandwich on the plate 'Anything else?'

'The other girl is laughing'

'But what is _she_ doing?' Quinn insisted.

'I can't see _everything_ from here and still being discreet.' he protested 'Mmm is she pouting?' he frowned 'I think she's pouting at the mug'

'What?' she scooted behind him, trying to take a look at their table 'Maybe she wanted a leaf instead' she bit her lip regretfully.

'No, but she's laughing, I think it was just playfully'

Some feet away the conversation kept going.

'So what I was thinking' Kurt began. Rachel stirring her coffee and mouthed goodbye to the froth heart 'If only a guy hit on her we could see how she reacts'

'But it should be a hot one. Someone you wouldn't say no to' suggested Mercedes.

'Puck!' said Rachel and both Kurt and Mercedes quirked up their eyebrows skeptically 'What? He's handsome. Objectively handsome' she smirked at Kurt.

'Yes' agreed Mercedes 'but he's a womanizer. That's minus 10 points in my hot-o-meter'

'But she doesn't know him, so that little detail doesn't really count'

'She has a point' defended Kurt.

'Okay, but he'll have to pretend that we don't know each other' stated Rachel.

'I'd swear I've seen this somewhere. A movie maybe?' Kurt pursed his lips, thinking.

'They did something similar on The L Word' explained Rachel 'But they were trying to find out if the girl was gay, not straight' she paused herself and frowned in concern 'Oh god, what if she's straight?'

'A straight girl wouldn't do all that foam heart thing for another girl' Kurt replied and Mercedes agreed.

'But, what if she's bi?' she whispered so as not to be heard 'What if she sees Puck and falls for him. What if she likes bad boys and wants to have his babies?' she looked terrified by her own story 'Puck's out. We need to ask Blaine. At least he's gay'

'Then why on earth would a gay guy ask a girl out?' Kurt laughed.

'Damn, you're right' Rachel accepted his argument 'What about Finn?'

Kurt and Mercedes started laughing and Rachel joined. Mercedes covered her mouth to hold back a snort 'That was good' she said, stilling her voice.

'Look' Kurt spoke 'we ask Puck and we tell him that if he sees signs of heterosexuality he has to say something to scare her away and abort the mission'

Rachel pursed her lips and thought for a few moments 'Okay, fine. Tomorrow, you two come with me and we watch the whole scene. Operation Foam has started'

'Foamperation' Kurt held out his pinkie finger and both girls linked theirs.

* * *

Quinn finished the heart-shape foam doodle carefully and set the mug on the tray along with the espresso and vanilla milkshake. She carried it to the table were Rachel, Kurt and Mercedes were seated at. She glanced at Rachel when she settled the cappuccino in front of her and saw her smiling at her and ducking her head down shyly. She smiled back although Rachel's head was already tilted down.

'Puck's here' Kurt informed looking towards the door.

The three of them looked discreetly at him and he nodded slightly, a sign that Foamperation was on.

Puck sat down near a window. They waited until Quinn was already walking to his table. They saw her taking his order. He had his flirting smirk on. The girl went back to the bar and disappeared into the kitchen.

'Hey, Sam' she called him.

'Yes?'

'What's your favorite beer?' Quinn asked him.

'I don't know. Heineken's fine for me'

'But if you wanted to be surprised, which one would you prefer?'

Sam frowned at her 'Why?'

'A guy asked for a beer and he told me to 'surprise' him'

'Oh' Sam replied 'We don't have that many beers' he chuckled.

'I know' she laughed.

A couple of minutes later, Rachel saw Quinn walking towards Puck with a beer. After she was gone her phone buzzed.

'**Puckasaurus to Jewish Princess. U receive me?'**

'_Cut the crap, Puck. Fill me in'_

'**Geez, Rach, you're such a buzzkiller.' **

'**I ordered a beer, told her to surprise me and brought me a Heineken.' **

'**Too ambiguous. Over.'**

'_Was she giving you flirting vibes?'_

'**Nope. You have to say over when you finish the sentence. Over.'**

Rachel squinted in Puck's direction and saw him laughing to himself.

'_Fuck you. Over'_

Rachel put the phone aside, glancing at Puck, who gave her a quick smirk. She rolled her eyes and turned to Kurt and Mercedes.

'He says he's told her to surprise him with a beer and she gave him a Heineken.'

'Is that good?' asked Mercedes.

'He says it's ambiguous'

The three of them turned to look at their accomplice when he stood up and approached the bar. He sat on the stool looking at Quinn, who was setting some clean dishes and glasses on the cupboards.

'**She's hot'**

'**Over'**

Rachel read the messages and gave Puck a dead glare. An unsuccessful dead glare, as he was facing Quinn, his back to them.

Mercedes grabbed Rachel's phone and read the message. She rolled her eyes and texted him.

'_Puck, it's Cedes. This is serious. The girl's in love'_

'_Over'_

Mercedes gave her back her phone, laughing.

Quinn noticed Puck's change of seat and frowned. She gestured at him to check if he needed something else.

'Nice choice' he said, tilting his beer.

'Thank you' she smiled politely 'We don't have a very wide variety of beers. Sorry.'

'It's fine.' he sipped from the bottle 'You like beer?'

The question caught Quinn off-guard 'Ehm, yeah…' she replied shyly 'But I'm more into wine'

'Wine? It suits you.' he smiled.

Quinn raised her eyebrows in surprise. She riffled through the cutlery, to hide her awkwardness.

'Thank you?' she replied smiling politely.

'I'm Noah' he held out his hand for her to shake it. She hesitated.

'I'm Quinn' she shook his hand shyly.

'Mmm' he hummed 'I thought you were more like a princess' he smiled at her.

Quinn chuckled and scratched her forehead nervously. She felt her face blushing. She stepped closer to the kitchen door 'I have to…' she pointed at the door and got in.

Sam turned around to face her and noticed her red cheeks and her nervous look.

'What happened?'

'A guy's flirting with me' Sam started laughing 'It's not funny! It's obvious you've never been hit on by the wrong sex'

He shook his head still laughing 'I'm sorry, I'm sorry'

'You'd better come out and act as if you were my boyfriend or something' she pointed out at him. She paused herself 'No! She's there. She'd think I'm straight' she groaned and rolled her eyes.

'Okay, just relax.' he held her by the shoulders 'Go out, stay cool. If he flirts just don't lead him on, reject him politely.' He looked at her 'I'll go and clean some tables near her table and I'll try to spy'

Mercedes leaned forward to whisper 'She looked nervous, didn't she?'

'That doesn't mean anything' replied Rachel 'She could be a shy straight girl'

'Mmm' hummed Kurt looking over Sam's direction 'Where is he been hiding all along?'

'Oh, he's the other waiter. But it seems he works more in the kitchen'

Mercedes turned to look 'Damn, he's such a cutie'

'Guys, focus.' Rachel said before her phone buzzed.

'**She looked kinda nervous. In an awkward way'**

'_Really?'_

'**Need more time anyway'**

'Guys, don't speak so loud' Rachel whispered 'He could hear us. This is top secret, okay?'

After taking some breaths to calm down, Quinn got out of the kitchen and started cleaning the counter. At that time of the day there weren't a lot of costumers so she had to engage in any type of task to avoid talking to her suitor. She glanced at him every now and then to find him texting and sipping from his beer.

Sam got back to the counter and leaned close to her.

'They were talking about a guy named Blaine.' he whispered so that Puck couldn't hear 'I think he's the guy's boyfriend or something.'

Quinn sighed, partly in relief, partly in disappointment. She'd hoped they were talking about her.

'Who am I kidding?' she said 'A few decorated cappuccinos won't make her go gay'

'Hey, I do think she likes you.' he tried to cheer her up 'Do you think she'd smile at you every time you do that if she didn't like it?'

She shrugged.

Rachel's phone buzzed once again. She took it and read the message.

'**Do you know that guy?'**

'_He's other waiter but I don't know who he is'_

'_Why? You think they're together?! Is she looking at him with love? :( '_

'**No, she looks kinda… sad? He's more like cheering up, I guess'**

'**Okay. Time for some action'**

Sam got into the kitchen again and Puck took advantage of it. He took his wallet out to have an excuse to talk to her. He held out a bill and gestured at her. She nodded and pressed some buttons on a computer screen. She took the receipt and gave it to him. He glanced at it and handed her the money.

'Quinn?' he called her. She turned from the computer and faced him 'What time do you finish work? I know a nice place for dinner' Quinn widened her eyes, taken aback 'They have very nice wine' he winked at her 'What d'you say?'

Quinn gaped and shook her head to recover herself 'Ehm. I can't, I…' she hesitated 'I always finished quite late… sorry…' she trailed off.

'Well, maybe you can give me your number and I can call you?' he insisted

'Uhm… I'm…' she started fiddling with the hem of her shirt 'I'm not… I'm sorry. I can't' she chuckled nervously 'It's just that…'

Puck chuckled too, but then smiled at her kindly 'It's okay. No problema' he held out his hand 'It was nice meeting you'

Quinn laughed shyly and shook his hand.

'Bye' he waved at her and she waved back. Once he was gone, she sighed in relief and he took his phone and began texting.

'**She politely declined my generous offer of dinner and wine' **

'_What did she said?'_

'_We saw you leaving but we couldn't hear a thing'_

'**She tried to make up an excuse, but she kinda babbled.' **

'**It was pretty cute. I'm sure you'd love that'**

'_Awwww'_

'_Thank you Puck :) I owe you one'_

'**Nah. You're my Jewish Princess ;) ' **

'**But do me a favor, ok?'**

'_Sure'_

'**Ask her out, won't you?'**

'_Hahahah. Okay, okay'_

Kurt and Mercedes handed her some money. She looked at them frowning. Before Rachel could ask, Kurt explained.

'We'll wait for you outside. You pay, so you can have a little chat with her.'

Rachel chuckled and smiled gratefully at them. They stood up and Rachel headed to the counter.

Quinn was inside the kitchen so Rachel waited patiently.

'Why was it him and not her who asked me out?' Quinn complained.

'Why don't _you_ ask _her_ out?' Sam replied drying the dishes that were piled on the sink and putting them on the tray Quinn was holding.

Quinn sighed and walked out of the kitchen. Sam dried his hands and followed after her.

'I just think you have nothing to lo-' Sam stopped talking when he realized Rachel was waiting by the counter.

Quinn smiled shyly at her, putting the tray aside. Sam walked to the table where Rachel and her friends were seated moments ago. He started picking up the mugs and the glass.

'Hey' greeted Rachel

'Hey'

'The check from that table' Rachel pointed at her table.

'Sure' Quinn smiled sweetly and turned to the computer to get the receipt. She turned around once again and saw Sam gesturing at Rachel and mouthing 'Ask her out' to her. She blushed.

'Here' she handed the little paper to her and waited trying not to pay attention to Sam's gestures.

Rachel rummaged in her wallet.

'You pay this time?' asked Quinn.

Rachel looked up and smiled at her 'Kind of' she replied 'They gave me the money before' she confessed and laughed.

Rachel's phone started buzzing. She was still rummaging in her wallet. She pretended she couldn't find the money so that the moment could last longer. The phone kept buzzing annoyingly.

'Just a sec, guys' she mumbled. Quinn giggled and Rachel thought that angels were playing music somewhere inside her mouth. She finally stopped pretending and handed her the bills.

'Keep the change' said Rachel smiling.

Quinn chuckled, smiling back at her 'Thank you' she wanted to blurt out the goddamned question, but her voice betrayed her.

Rachel's phone buzzed for the tenth time and she groaned and rolled her eyes.

'Sorry' she said. Quinn shook her head laughing.

Rachel turned around a bit disappointed, she couldn't find the bravery to ask her on a date so she began walking towards the door, taking out her phone, preparing herself to scold Kurt and Mercedes for their impatience. She checked the messages.

'**The blonde guy's pointing at you!'**

'**Like trying to encourage her!'**

'**We've just seen him sticking out his thumbs! Go for it Rach!'**

'**Ask her out for god's sake!'**

Rachel stopped suddenly and beamed. She turned around. Quinn was looking at Sam. Rachel looked at him too. He was holding his hands in the air like in shock. She wanted to believe he was trying to tell her 'What the hell are you doing?'. She looked back at Quinn, who had noticed she was still there and coughed.

She walked back to the counter. Quinn frowned, in surprise.

'Hey' Quinn said 'Again' she chuckled.

'Hey, again' she laughed along 'Uhm…' she started 'What time are you done?'

Quinn processed the question and beamed. She took a look at her watch 'Seven'

'Wanna hang out?' she played with her phone nervously 'For a walk. Or dinner. Or whate-'

'Yes!' Quinn snapped.

Rachel giggled happily and bit her lip. Quinn took a look over the counter until she found her little notebook. She took it and ripped off a sheet of paper. She wrote something down and handed the paper to Rachel.

'That's my number. I'd rather change into something nicer' she looked at her uniform.

'Fine. I'll call you and I'll pick you up wherever you want'

'Perfect' she grinned at her.

Rachel walked towards the door, her smile never fading away. She opened the door and took a look behind her to find Quinn waving her goodbye shyly, which made her giggle.

Sam ran towards her and held out his palms and hi-fived Quinn with a big smile.

'Awesome!' he squealed and laughed along with Quinn.

Outside the little café, Rachel joined her friends hopping and smiling widely. She hugged them with a little scream of excitement.

'I did it!'

Kurt and Mercedes linked arms with Rachel and began walking down the street, preparing the big date that Rachel and Quinn were going to have.

* * *

**A special thanks to Azhame, for the main idea. We're a team, bitch.**


End file.
